Loading and Saving Files

This Software has not been developed for use as a navigation tool and neither it nor any GPS assets exported by or any other outputs from the use of this software should be used for the purposes of navigation or as a navigation aid.

Note that not all waypoint, trail and route features are supported by all file types. To ensure the widest range of features are supported, including the full range of waypoint icons and colours, we recommend using the Lowrance USR format in version 4 or later.

Waypoint, Trail and Route Unique IDs

From version 4 onwards of the Lowrance USR file format, every waypoint, route and trail is assigned a unique ID. This ID is globally unique for that asset, and remains the same for the lifetime of that asset.

Unique IDs are a very useful feature when importing and exporting data files, because they prevent the same asset from being imported multiple times, but it is important to understand how they are handled by both Lowrance units and the Waypoint Manager when importing files:

When importing waypoints, trails or routes to either a Lowrance unit or the Waypoint Manager, assets in the file that contain the same ID as an asset that is already loaded onto the unit (or within the Waypoint Manager) will be ignored. In practice, this means that any edits you make to an existing asset that has been exported from your unit will not be applied to that asset if the asset still exists on your unit when you import a USR file that has been exported by the Waypoint Manager.

Fortunately, there is a simple workaround for this issue: When editing assets that have been exported from your unit, you must delete all waypoints, trails and routes on the unit before re-importing your modified USR file.

In addition, we always recommend maintaining backups of any data files that you export from your unit. At its simplest, this can mean saving all assets to one file, for import into the Waypoint Manager, and using a different file name when exporting assets again.

To view the Open File page (above), click the FILE menu header, followed by Open.:

The Open file page contains a Browse button, which opens a file browsing window from which one or more files can be selected for loading. Note that any number of waypoints, routes and trails files can be loaded at one time, but only a single sonar log file. If more than one sonar log file is selected, only one of them will be loaded and displayed.

All local disk drives and memory cards are displayed in the Drives list. Clicking on a drive within this list opens a file browsing window for that location.

Recently loaded files, and their folders, are displayed in separate lists, which will be empty when the Waypoint Manager is run for the first time. Click on a recent folder to open a file browsing window at that disk location, or click on a recent file to reload that file.

When loading file(s), there is the option to merge the contents of the loaded files with existing waypoints, trails and routes, or to first clear the Waypoint Manager, so that only the newly loaded assets remain. Use the drop-down menu to choose the option you prefer. Note that if you choose to replace existing assets, and you have unsaved changes, you will be prompted to save these changes before the assets are replaced.

Sonar log files with the extension .SLG, .SL2 or .SL3 can be selected for opening in the same way as data files. Note that only a single sonar log file can be open at one time; if multiple sonar log files are selected for loading, only a single one will open.

Sonar Index Files and Import Sonar Log Files from Removable Drives

To improve performance when displaying sidescan mosaics and sonar logs, the Waypoint Manager creates a sonar log index file in the same location as the existing log file, which is given a name of the form <existing_sonar_log_filename>.IDX. In order to create this file, the disk location for the sonar log file must be writeable.

For performance reasons, sonar log files should always be read from a local hard drive, and never from a USB stick or SD card. For this reason, new sonar log file recordings should be copied to a local drive before being open for viewing in the Waypoint Manager.

Click on either the Save button, or on a drive or folder in the Drives or Recent Folders lists to open a file chooser window (shown below).

A file name must be entered, and the file format can be chosen using the drop-down save as type list. Note that you do not need to include the file extension when entering the file name, as this will be added automatically.